Palme d’Or Winners, Bergman Honored

The Cannes International Film Festival celebrated its 50th edition with a gala ceremony and dinner Sunday night. Actress Jeanne Moreau introduced 29 former Palme d’Or winners, running the gamut from Richard Lester to Michelangelo Antonioni, and then called for, and received, an extended, rhythmic standing ovation for the group.

Americans Robert Altman, Jerry Schatzberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderberg, David Lynch and Ethan and Joel Coen were present, but Quentin Tarantino was absent. The Palme d’Or des Palmes d’Or, given to a living director who never won at Cannes, went to Swedish director Ingmar Bergman.

Accepting was his daughter, Linn Ullman, who said, “My father has asked me to ask you to forgive an old man for not being here tonight.” She went on to quote Bergman: “After years and years of playing with images of life and death, life has caught up with me and made me shy and silent. With honor and humility, I want to say, ‘Thank you.’ ”